A system-on-a-chip (SoC) device is an integrated circuit that integrates various electronic components of a computer system onto a single die. Therefor, a SoC device may provide comparable computing capabilities as a system that uses multiple components, while consuming less power than the comparable computer system design by virtue of its integrated nature.
One type of SoC device can include functional logic and a clock tree that operate based upon a power grid having a single distribution network (power grid) that provides both the functional logic and the clock tree with power, e.g., the power grid can operate to provide a single voltage level (a main voltage level) to the functional logic and clock tree. Another type of SoC device uses a low swing clock (LSC) tree to achieve lower dynamic and static power consumption in the SoC design. A SoC device that includes a LSC tree operates to provide certain portions of the functional logic and the clock tree with power from a first power distribution network at a first voltage level (the main voltage level), to provide other portions of the functional logic and the clock tree with power from a second power distribution network at a second, typically lower, voltage level, and to provide yet other portions of the functional logic and the clock tree with power from both the first and second power distribution networks. The clock tree of an SoC device can account for 40-50% of the power of the SoC device. A clock tree that provides clock signals having lower voltage swings consumes less dynamic and static power than a clock tree that provides clock signals with a higher voltage swing, and can be referred to as a LSC tree.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.